"It slipped down a hole."
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Hayes and the two Coventrys.
"That's enough," said Simpson, reprovingly. "I'll bet Phillips did his best."
"Have you unloaded, young gentleman?" asked the farmer. "Always make sure you have no cartridges in your gun when you leave the warren. Bless me I'll tell ye how to knock over the rabbits, if you like."
"You usually take a dog with you, don't you?" asked Phillips.
"Yes, a dog will turn out any rabbit that is lying close. All the same it isn't necessary. Now, I saw you going through the warren, and I said to myself, 'Sure he'll be main lucky if he gets a shot.' You have to stalk 'em. Keep dead against the wind, and have your gun ready to let fly directly you see a movement in the bushes. You were going with the wind, and they know your scent. Coming back you walked too quickly. It was only haphazard-like that you had a shot at one at all."
"I believe I walked over a cave or something," said Phillips. "I heard a funny sort of tapping noise."
"Whereabouts?" asked several of the Scouts.
"Right in the middle of the warren."
"Don't you know?" asked the farmer. "That's the rabbits in their holes giving warning to those in other burrows. They hit the ground with their hind foot. When you hear that 'tain't much use to stay there: they won't come out again in a hurry."